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Which Smartphone Suits You? A Buyer’s Guide

Buying a smartphone today is no easy than deciding on what to eat on a dinner outing simply because choice is just so much. Blink your eye and a new smartphone is in the town, it has become actually rather difficult keeping a record of all these smartphones. It makes our job more fun, but what about the end users? I am sure when buying a smartphone most of them do not even know all the options available to them. This post has been long time coming so finally I tell you, in case you are planning on buying a smartphone, which one should you get. The list is based on the Operating System the phones run and I would be telling you the low range, mid range and flagship range devices that you could pick depending upon your budget. Please note that all these devices may not be available in your local market but can easily be picked Online on the likes of Ebay or Flipkart etc for the Indian Readers. So, lets dig in and find out, which smartphone suits you.

Android: Android is quickly growing up to become the hottest selling mobile OS on the planet. With a wide variety of devices and availability on just about every possible carrier and unlocked, Android holds probably the highest share in the mobile smartphone market today. Get Android for plenty of customizations, open sourced development and a very good application store. Android though is not for everyone and plenty of first time users found the OS pretty complicated to use and on occasions a bit cluttered. Add to it, the skin on top of Android is manufacturer dependent, like the Motoblur for Motorola, TouchWiz for Samsung and Sense UI for HTC, this means that all Android devices look different so depending on your choice, this could be a good thing or bad. If you are a developer then this without a doubt would be your OS of choice. Rooting your device gives you an even bigger playing field and you can make your device truly yours from head to toe.

iPhone: Apple’s iPhone is probably the most recognizable smartphone on the street out there. An extremely popular phone with premium prices too.Get an iPhone for a brilliant design, Vertical Integration of Apple Eco System Across the device, amazing App Store and a very good customer Support. If you want just the basics from your device and have no issues in being in a closed Eco system like Apple offers then there is nothing better in the market. You cannot customize your device beyond changing the wallpapers and there is no option to customize your profile the way you want it, so customizations is a no go. And before you all jump to saying Cydia is the answer, well Cydia even though is a great help, it can easily brick your device and void the warranty. Yet if you want an extremely easy to use OS and loads and loads of Apps and a pretty screen, iPhone is the way to go.

Low End Device: iPhone 3GS

Mid Range Device: iPhone 4

High Range Device: iPhone 4S

Blackberry: Blackberry was once upon a time the undisputed King of smartphones, at least as far as Office going Executives are concerned. However a really boring OS and competing against Android and iOS means RIM’s shares have dipped significantly. Get a Blackberry for the best qwerty keyboard in the market, BBM service and a great push Email facility. However, this is just not enough as far as any Tech enthusiast is concerned. There are barely any customisations apart from theming, not the best Cameras, perpetual hanging, the App Store is poor to say the least and the music capabilities are not a patch on what Android and iPhone offers. I find it very tough to believe how somebody would use a Blackberry as their only daily driver, the phones just do not do enough. The only selling USP is for those who wish to chat 24*7 on BBM. Definitely my least favorite OS and probably good as a secondary device. For the same price ranges there are various better devices in the market and then there is Whatsapp if you are such a chat addict.

Low End Devices: Curve 8520, Curve 9300

Mid Range Devices: Curve 9360, Bold 9780

High Range Devices: Bold 9900, Torch 9810.

Windows Phone 7: WP 7 is by far my favorite upcoming OS. The Microsoft produced mobile OS is based on Metro UI and looks really clean and simple to use. Get a WP7 device for great hardware quality, a very good OS, decent upcoming App Store, seamless usage with no lags and skydrive use out of the box. WP7 is very much work in progress but we love what we have seen so far from them. The devices are at a premium meaning there is a minimum hardware requirements that WP7 has specified like the processor capabilities meaning you do not have to worry about a slow device. Zuun integration means the music experience on the phone is a pleasure to use. Definitely recommended, if you are willing to wait a little bit then you have an OS that would stead you well in future.

Low End Devices: Nokia Lumia 710, Samsung Omnia W

Medium Range Devices: HTC Radar

High End Devices: HTC Titan, Titan 2, Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 900.

Symbian: Symbian are the fallen giants of the mobile world today. Once boasting of a complete monopoly of the mobile market, Symbian since have totally lost out. Symbian is still a decent choice if you want devices that are cheaply available, great hardware capabilities and some devices like Nokia N8 have the best on board camera. The OVI store is nothing great to write home about and the devices do lag if bundled with loads of applications. The loudspeakers and battery back ups usually are very good, so if you are a rugged first time smartphone user, Symbian is still a very decent choice. And with Belle update, the UI has definitely received a face lift. Yet it probably will compete with BB to be the fourth choice OS on our list.

Low End Devices: The Asha Series.

Medium End Devices: Nokia E6, Nokia E72

High End Devices: Nokia N8, E7

I hope this little post would help you make up your mind regarding the device you should pick up. If you have any questions or opinions, please feel free to fill the comments section.

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